Debbie Lord-Freelance Designer for Pure

On Monday 18^th October Debbie Lord came to give a talk to my class and myself. At the moment she is a freelancer designer working for a studio called Pure and she mainly works on bedding that is her area. After the session I had a one to one with her and showed her my work, this was informative and gave me valuable advice. Debbie gave us a lot of information that was very helpful; I have just concentrated on the freelance design to post on the blog.

Debbie studied at Stockport College and then went to complete a HND in Cleveland College of art of design. While she was completing the HND she worked very hard and put many extra hours into the day. When Debbie left college she rang every design studio in the Manchester area and asked them if she can show them her portfolio to get feedback and aim to get her name out there, doing this she has made contacts. In the end Debbie got 5 companies willing to take a look at her work. From this Debbie got a job with a Manchester fashion studio, they rang her tutor and offered her a job, even though she did not want to work in fashion her dream job was furnishing fabrics for interiors.

Debbie got her second job in Derby House Fabrics, for furnishing fabrics. In this job she gained skills in CAD and knowledge of the industry, this was making her a stronger designer.

While she was in this job a technician saw potential and gave her confidence in applying for a job with Tom Lewis studios, which specialise in interior fabrics. Here she worked with the company for four years.

Eventually Debbie decided to be a freelance designer and work from home, this was when she started working for Pure who are based in Macclesfield, she is working part time because she has a young family. Every two weeks she has a meeting with her manager and they would expect 15-20 designs off her, Debbie mentioned that sometimes that this is not possible with family although she does have a good rapport with her manager and they know she produces designs that are of quality to them.

Working as a freelance designer, means you are running your own business. You would have to fund the business. Therefore you would have to have good admin skills i.e finances, tax, and national insurance, there is help available online for accounting, or you could hire a financial advisor to help every year, although this would be extra cost. When setting up your business you can receive grants from the council or the government, also there are free courses to help with time management, book keeping and writing a business plan. To set up a business it could take up to £8,000- £10,000 to get all the equipment needed. When Debbie set up her business she bought a printer, which cost her £2,800, with this printer she can print onto different thicknesses of paper and fabric. You have to remember you would have to have an agent who sold your work they would take 40% to 50% of the profit with every design you sell.

Debbie gave really good advise to succeed in the area we choose:

· Hard working

· Work part of a team

· Work independently

· Be Organised

· Collect ideas

· Sharing good practice

· Synthesize ideas

· Work to Briefs

· Be Competitive

· Keep record to be professional

· Be motivated

· Be versatile

· Work closely with people in other areas of the business

· Be unique

· Constructive criticism

· Make progress

· Move design forward

I showed her my work on a power point. This was one of the first times I have shown my work to someone in the industry. Debbie was lovely and gave me some really good advice.

· Make the designs more commercial, think about costs and repeats.

· Make sure the buyer will know instantly what he is looking at, if it’s a flower, a swirl, or a geometric pattern.

· Really understand the design industry, more knowledge more confidence.

· Have a purpose when designing…what are you designing for? Where is it going to go? What interior product?

· Some of the designs that I completed in the second year could be adapted to make them commercial designs.

Regarding the work I am finishing now

· Look at how other designers have used marbling in there work.

· Find motifs that compliment your work, not flowers maybe damasks.

· Lace patterns that can help with the motifs.

· Create flowers with the punches and circles with a turquoise background.

After the session Debbie gave the group her e-mail address and told the group if any of us had any queries just to e-mail her and she would try to help us out.